Eden and Her Borderlands
By Gina Malone
Asheville-based musician Anya Hinkle describes her new album, Eden and Her Borderlands, as “more ‘me’ than any album I’ve ever made.” At the same time, it is a product of the pandemic times during which it was created. “It wasn’t the most inspiring time in a lot of ways, but in a lot of other ways, it was inspiring,” Hinkle says. “The album is a trip through the pandemic: through political upheaval, through George Floyd, through death and loss and uncertainty and reinvention and acceptance and appreciation of all that we have.” Touring behind the album, she adds, feels like a “re-emergence.”
Hinkle grew up in a musical family in the mountains of southwest Virginia and moved to California to study ethnobotany before an obsession with bluegrass and old-time music called her home again and, eventually, led her to Asheville. In the beginning, she says, she had no interest in songwriting. “I wanted to be a heritage player,” she says. “But my bands needed songs and so I started dabbling in songwriting.” That was 15 years ago and in that time, Hinkle says her material has transitioned from songs that are typically bluegrass to ones that might fall into other genres.
On the new album, every song, except for two covers by Rev. Gary Davis and RB Morris, features her vocals and songwriting talents. “I feel like the album really ties together my sound by bringing more traditional bluegrass and old-time sounds in with folk and Americana and blues influences,” says Hinkle.
After the long year of cancelled live shows, Hinkle is ready to play for audiences again, including ones overseas. “Performing feels like spring after a long winter,” she says, “like pulling on a yellow dress and throwing open the doors.”
To find out where Anya Hinkle will be performing regionally and to purchase the album, visit AnyaHinkle.com.
